Can MR Enterography and Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Predict Disease Activity Assessed by Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s Disease?

Purpose: Monitoring Crohn’s disease (CD) activity has a crucial importance, especially for evaluating treatment efficacy. Magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) or their combination may represent potential non-invasive tools for this purpose. This study aimed to examine DWI and MRE for their potential to differentiate between different grades of ileocolonic CD activity. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 54 adult patients with a diagnosis of CD who underwent ileocolonoscopy and MRE including the DWI sequence. The severity of CD inflammation was categorized by Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s Disease (SES-CD) as inactive, mild, moderate and severe. In addition, following conventional MRE and DWI parameters were examined: bowel wall thickness, mural T2 hyperintensity, contrast enhancement, DWI signal intensity, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. Results: In patients with moderate to severe disease based on SES-CD, T2 hyperintensity score [1.68 ± 0.77 (1–3) vs. 2.19 ± 0.69 (1–3); p = 0.013] and mean DWI score [2.42 ± 0.58 (1–3) vs. 2.04 ± 0.69 (1–3); p = 0.037 ] were higher and mean ADC values [1.5 ± 0.4 (0.9–2.5) vs. 1.2 ± 0.3 (0.6–1.8)] were lower compared to patients with inactive to mild CD. ADC had a moderate diagnostic accuracy in predicting moderate to severe disease (AUC = 0.729, 95% CI = 0.591–0.841, p = 0.001), with a cut-off value of ≤1.47 × 10–3 mm2/sec yielded 88.5% (23/26) sensitivity, 57.1% (16/28) specificity. Conclusion: DWI, ADC and T2 signal appear to differentiate moderate to severe CD from inactive to mildly active CD, based on SES-CD evaluation and may be useful in monitoring disease activity, particularly when evaluating treatment response

Effect of Modification of Lifestyle on Reproductive Potential Yașam Tarzı Değișikliğinin Üreme Potansiyeline Etkisi

ABSTRAC

Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for- ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi- crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol- ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies. In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific areas of health biotechnology are discussed

Frequency of abnormal pulmonary computed tomography findings in asylum seeking refugees in Turkey

Background: Lungs are particularly vulnerable to both acute infections, including TB, and chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as to malignancies, all of which require particular attention during war times in which health conditions are far from optimal

Biological activities of platismatia glauca (L.) W.L.Culb. & C.F.culb. on human lymphocytes

Likenler yapısında farklı metabolitleri bulunduran ve bu bileşenleri sayesinde antik çağlardan beri birçok hastalığın tedavisinde yararlanılan organizma olarak dikkat çekmektedir. Bu yüzden, mevcut çalışma önemli liken türlerinden biri olan Platismatia glauca (L.) W.L.Culb. & C.F.Culb.'nın insan lenfositleri üzerindeki etkilerini incelemeyi amaçlamıştır. P. glauca'dan elde edilen metanol (PME) ve su (PSE) ekstraktlarının hücreler üzerindeki sitotoksik aktiviteleri 3-(4,5-dimetiltiazol2-il)-2,5-difeniltetrazolyum bromür ve laktat dehidrogenaz testleri ile analiz edilmiştir. PME ve PSE ile muamele edilen lenfositlerdeki oksidatif değişimin belirlenmesi amacıyla toplam antioksidan kapasite (TAK) ve toplam oksidan durum (TOD) analizleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu uygulamalara ek olarak, ekstraktların hücreler üzerinde sebep olduğu genetik hasar hücrelerdeki 8-hidroksi-2?- deoksiguanozin seviyeleri ölçülerek tespit edilmiştir. Hesaplanan IC50 değerleri, PSE'nin (162,26 mg/L) PME'ye (84,02 mg/L) kıyasla çok daha düşük seviyede sitotoksik aktivite gösterdiğini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Her iki ekstraktın tüm konsantrasyonlarının (6,25-200 mg/L) negatif kontrole kıyasla istatistiksel olarak (p>0,05) hücrelerdeki TAK'yi yükselttiği ve aynı zamanda düşük konsantrasyonlarının genetik hasar meydana getirmediği belirlenmiştir. Tüm uygulamalar göz önüne alındığında, PME ve özellikle PSE'nin belli konsantrasyonlarının (0,05) compared to negative control and at the same time low concentrations did not cause genetic damage. Considering all applications, it was observed that certain concentrations (<25 mg/L) of PME and especially PSE increased TAC without significant oxidative and genetic damage on lymphocytes and thus, P. glauca lichen can be used as a natural antioxidant

Pain Control and Its Relationship with Histopathological Outcome in TRUS-Guided Prostate Needle Biopsy: A Prospective Non-Randomized Trial

Objective Transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-Bx) is a standard diagnostic modality for detecting prostate cancer (PCa). Pain during biopsy is the most important problem that still needs a solution. The purpose of this study was to compare 3 pain control techniques and to investigate the relationship between the level of pain and histopathological findings. Materials and Methods 139 patients underwent prostate biopsy utilizing 3 analgesic techniques; 1- using lidocain gel (group 1), 2- pethidine+diazepam (group 2) and 3- periprostatic nerve block (group 3). Pain level, the tolerability and repetition of the procedure were questioned. The pathological findings were recorded. Results There was a statistically significant difference between group 1 and the others with regard to tolerability and repeating the procedure. The pain score during biopsy in group 1 was greater than in the other groups and those in group 2 was higher than in group 3. The mean pain score during probe insertion in group 2 was lower than in groups 1 and 3. The mean pain score taken during the biopsy was higher than that during probe insertion in group 2. However, the mean pain score during probeinsertion in group 3 was not different from that in group 1. There was no significant difference in pathological results between group 1 and groups 2 and 3. Pain scores in patients with chronic prostatitis were statistically higher than those in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and Pca in groups 2 and 3 (p<0.05). Conclusion Periprostatic nerve block is superior to the others. However, it is not better than pethidine plus diazepam during rectal probe insertion. In the presence of chronic prostatitis, pain scores can increase regardless of the pain control method

Abdominal or Transrectal Ultrasonographic Prostate Volume and Cystoscopic Prostatic Urethral Length Measurements to Determine the Surgical Technique for Prostatectomy in Patients with Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Objective We aimed to determine the most suitable technique for prostate volume (PV) measurement to decide for the most appropriate surgical approach - endoscopic or open - by establishing the relationship between imaging techniques and the resected tissue weight (RTW). Materials and Methods Sixty men aged 49-95 years with lower urinary tract symptoms, who were scheduled for transurethral resection, were enrolled. The relationship of RTW with PV determined by preoperative abdominal ultrasonography as well as transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) performed at the table just before surgery, and prostatic urethral length (PUL) measured at the time of cystoscopy was analyzed. Two groups were established with respect to PV, (less than or equal to 75 cc and greater than 75 cc, respectively), and according to PUL (less than or equal to 2.5 cm and longer than 2.5 cm, respectively). Statistical analyses were performed between the groups to identify the best correlation between resected tissue weight and pre-surgical volume determination methods. Results The strongest correlation between RTW and prostatic volume measurements was established for the TRUS measurements (r=0.79; p<0.001). The coefficients of the abdominal and transrectal ultrasonographic volume and PUL were 0.127, 0.287 and 0.219, respectively. Conclusion Determination of PV by TRUS was found to be more accurate than abdominal ultrasonographic and cystoscopic measurements. Therefore, TRUS measurement of volume on the table at the time of surgery appears to be more suitable than other methods for the selection of the most suitable surgical technique especially in case of pre-operative difficulty for deciding the most appropriate surgical approach

Is Cardiac Repolarization Time Different Between Epilepsy Patients On Antiepileptic Drugs and Healthy Subjects?

WOS: 000438303700004Objectives: Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is attributed to peri-ictal cardiopulmonary abnormalities. In the present study, epilepsy patients on monotherapy (carbamazepine [CBZ], oxcarbazepine [OXZ], valproic acid [VPA]) were compared with a healthy control group to investigate the effects of epilepsy and various antiepileptic drugs on QTmax, QTmin, and QTd. Methods: Seventy eight (51.3% females) epilepsy patients with a mean age of 32.7 +/- 11.4 (range, 17-63) years and 71 (56.3% female) healthy subjects with a mean age of 36.3 +/- 13.6 (range, 18-64) years participated in the study. The shorter and longer QT were measured by electrocardiography (ECG) and then differences between them (QTd) were calculated. SPSS for Windows 21.0 package software was used to compare the findings between groups. Results: QTmin (p<0.000), QTmax (p<0.000), and QTd (p=0.069) were longer in the epilepsy group than in the control group. On the other hand, we found that 20 epilepsy patients, and none of the control subjects, had a long QT. Conclusion: In this study, we found that cardiac repolarization parameters were different between epileptic and healthy subjects. These results showed the importance of ECG controls at follow-up of epilepsy patients